Graduation Speeches | "Teach 'em how to say goodbye"

To the Superintendent, the School Committee, Danvers High School administration, my teachers, my family, my friends and the Class of 2017 --

I regret to inform you that this speech is not going to be very funny. The fact of the matter is that I am not a funny person, and if I were to try and crack any jokes, they would probably be met with some sympathetic laughter from my family members and incredibly awkward silence from the rest of you. (Just like that one.)

The truth is, Class of 2017, I wasn’t entirely sure what I ought to say to you. A valediction, is, after all, a statement or address made as a farewell -- something I learned only when trying to figure out what to say. Goodbyes are arguably one of the most difficult things to do, but I am no better at saying goodbye to my high school career than any of you, just as I am not entirely different from any of you either. I have been alive for essentially the same amount of time as all of you. I have walked the same hallways and attended the same sporting events and taken the same sorts of classes as all of you. And we have all lived our lives, mapping out who we are and where we want to go and who we want to become in whatever ways we thought best.

To aid us all in this act of saying farewell, therefore, I would like to take a few short minutes of your time, and invite all of you, as a class, to remember and reflect upon your time at Danvers High School. In these next few minutes, I simply invite you to think back, to reflect, to imagine.

First, I want you to think about halls that you’ve walked, day after day, week after week. Think about how it felt to see your lifelong friends in those same hallways each and every day, complaining to them about that test you just took or all of the homework you had to do that night or the essay due at midnight that you plan to do at midnight. Think about how you cherished those four short minutes as an escape from your next class, trudging slowly along all the while. Think about the way you, as freshmen, scurried along wide-eyed, trying to stay out of the way of the upperclassmen, and how you, as seniors, walked the halls like you owned them. I guess, because of the memories you hold there, you do. And you always will.

Now I want you to think about the classrooms you’ve spent hours upon hours in. Think about the four gray or blue walls that, when enclosing just the right people, and just the right teacher, seemed to come alive with spirit and interest and learning. Think about the classroom of your favorite teacher -- your refuge on bad days, and your second home on the good. As you walk into your first college class, surrounded by green or blue or red walls, I promise, you will miss that dull gray more than you ever thought you would.

Finally, I want you to think about the people you’ve met and grown alongside in your four years at Danvers High School. Think about the classmates you didn’t talk to very often, but always recognized, the friends you loved and spent time with, and the teachers you cherished. Many of these people are about to travel in a hundred different directions and perhaps lead hundreds of different lives. But I truly believe that these people will always stay with you, wherever you may go.

I hope, Class of 2017, that these short reflections aided you, even just a little bit, in the act of saying farewell to your high school years. I know that, for me, writing them certainly did. I also hope you know that it’s okay to be a little sad -- this whole farewell thing isn’t supposed to be easy. And finally, Class of 2017, as we set out to begin our respective adventures, I wanted to share my favorite quote with you. It was written by Eric Roth, and the advice that it gives has stuck with me for years. It goes like this:

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late, or, in my case, [in our case], too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change, or stay the same -- there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. And, if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”

To my teachers, my family, and my friends: thank you. And to the Class of 2017, I wish you every success in your future endeavors, wherever life may take you. And, well, goodbye.